


Coming Home

by ISwearImJustShy



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, BAMF Stiles, But she isn't in it a lot, Creeper Peter Hale, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Good Alpha Derek Hale, I just wanted Derek Hale to have another person in his corner, Laura Hale Lives, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mates, Pack Dynamics, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Werewolf Culture, Werewolf Politics, also she's a Lesbian, because we don't have enough lesbians in this fandom, scott is a puppy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29394570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ISwearImJustShy/pseuds/ISwearImJustShy
Summary: Peter Hale sucks. Stiles has always said so and Stiles is always right. It would be great, though, if Stiles being right didn't mean that Peter Hale was trying to kill his own family again.Derek Hale sucks slightly less, and he would almost be cool if he would get rid of the murder brows and stop sniffing Stiles whenever he thought Stiles wasn't paying attention. Also, it would just be great overall if he could stop haunting Stiles' dreams again.Stiles wishes he didn't feel helpless, but the last time this particular cast of characters came together he found out werewolves exist and somehow awakened a dormant magic gene that changed his life forever. He's moderately more prepared for the weirdness of it all, but it would be great if the Hale's would stop trying to drag him into their family drama.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow okay this is the first time I've written fanfic in ages. I am very rusty but this idea has been in my mind for a while, so I hope ya'll enjoy it :) It's still very much a work in progress, so all constructive criticism is welcome! I did not do the best proofreading here, so please be gentle. Kudos and comments are very appreciated!

Stiles hates Peter Hale with a passion. He didn't even know Peter Hale existed until high school when Scott became a werewolf and shit turned inside out for a while. It isn't exactly that Peter is a horrible person. It's just that he's a ginormous dick. He basically refused to help Scott AT ALL until he agreed to join some sort of werewolf gang and then when Scott refused he had intentionally put minions in his path to cause problems until he started to wear Scott down.

Stiles doesn't even like to THINK about Peter Hale, but it's kind of hard not to when he's leaning against the driver's side of the jeep. Stiles groans out loud, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He looks back toward the bar in longing, but Ash has already locked the door and is walking in the opposite direction, mumbling along to the music in their headphones like they always do. When Stiles turns back to his Jeep, Peter has the stupid smirk back on his face and Stiles can feel himself growing angry as he speed walks across the parking lot.

"What do you want, Creeper Wolf?" He says as he walks, stopping several feet away, crossing his arms in an attempt to make himself appear bigger. He knows it doesn't work, but over the years he's learned that with werewolves it's best to lean into the base instincts.

"Is that any way to greet your benefactor, Stiles?" Peter asks, leaning further back against the Jeep, utterly relaxed.

"That's a weird way to say stalker."

"Come now, we're past that now aren't we? I helped your little friend get control of the wolf, I gave you the resources you needed for magic, and you'll find I have left you alone, as you wished. You've gotten everything you wanted." Peter spreads his hands out as he talks, gesturing around them as if the dingy parking lot of the Lost Orchid is proof of some great success.

"Cut the bullshit, Peter. I just got off work and I wanna go home and shower. Say what you want and then leave me alone." Stiles finally moves forward and hip checks Peter out of the way, noticing like he always does that Peter moves just before he makes contact.

"I'm not sure if you've heard yet, but my nephew and his pack are moving back-"

"I ran into Thing 1 at the grocery store this morning. That still isn't telling me what you want." Stiles knows that interrupting Peter isn't a great idea, but his day has been horrible and Peter's attitude always pisses him off.

"I want you to spy on him for me. Join his pack, sleep with him, I don't care. But tell me what he's up to." Peter is standing at his full height now, leaning forward as if trying to intimidate Stiles, but Stiles just laughs and shakes his head.

"That's a no go, CW. His puppies probably just got homesick, and that's not worth jumping back on the werewolf drama train." Stiles finally opens the car door and climbs in, going to shut it in Peter's face, but Peter grabs the door from him before he can and leans into his space. Peter's breath is sour and his yellow teeth elongate just enough to be a hint of fang.

"If you don't, Stiles, you know what I can do." Peter's eyes are deep red. But Peter had miscalculated: alphas without packs mean nothing to Stiles.

In an instant, Stiles has clapped his hands together in front of Peter's nose. Sparks fly from the impact, and huge flames lick the air around Peter's face, startling him backwards into the road and disappearing into the air around his face as Stiles closes the door and starts the jeep.

"I think you forgot what _I_ can do."

He drives off before Peter can recover, thankful that he knows Peter's biggest fear and ignoring how hard his hands are shaking on the steering wheel.

***

"No, Scott, I'm telling you. We need to be careful here. Something's wrong with Peter." Stiles leaves the "again" unsaid, but it hangs heavy in the air nonetheless. He can hear Scott groan on the other end of the line, and almost feels bad about waking his best friend up for this.

"I know it's not exactly normal for him to be outside the bar at 2 AM, but it doesn't sound like he actually did anything. Don't you think we need to wait for him to actually _do_ something before we get all stressed out? Outside of everything that's happened, Peter Hale is also just a weird dude." Scott says the last bit through a yawn and it takes Stiles a second to process what he said.

This is why Stiles loves Scott: he always believes the best in people. This is also why Stiles hates Scott: he never sees the bad in people until it's too late. Without Stiles, Scott would have signed up to be in Peter's pack immediately, tying himself to the first person who offered help. As it was, Stiles probably wouldn't have been able to talk him out of it if Laura and Derek Hale hadn't shown up, killed the rogue alpha, and opened up a quick werewolf summer school for the half a dozen teenagers who had suddenly grown fangs and fur.

"I'm telling you, there was something off.And I don't know about you, but spying on Derek Hale seems like a pretty bad idea. I mean, he kind of invented murder eyebrows. And I swear that the last time I saw him, he was sniffing me like I was food." Stiles opens his fridge, hoping that some awesome snack food had magically appeared since the last time he looked. But it was still the same half empty egg carton, spoiled milk, beer, and cheese slices he had left this morning. He grabs a beer and shuts the fridge, moving to sit on his bed in the corner of his studio.

"You were also seventeen and perpetually horny. He probably—"

"I don't think I want you to finish that sentence, Scotty. I'm already disturbed."

"I'm just saying, I think you're reading too much into it. You told Peter no, he knows to back off. Besides, it's not like he has a pack to back up any moves he makes. And you do. Even if he is an alpha of the land, pack means more than status and his instincts aren't gonna let him do much."

"Maybe. Can we at least go on alert? And could you maybe see if Alison's dad has any info?" Stiles powers up his TV, ready to find something mindless on Netflix to take up the white space in his brain for the night.

"Of course, dude. I'll bring it up with her first thing tomorrow. What about your dad?"

"I sent him a text to keep a look out, just in case."

"Then I think you've done all you can do. Is there anything else you need from me or can I get more sleep?" Scott is holding back another yawn, and Stiles almost feels bad for a minute.

"Yeah, dude, thanks for picking up. I think I'm gonna head to bed myself, but I may swing by tomorrow evening to double check the wards on your apartment before work."

"Aim for dinner time and you may able to get some homemade lasagna before I eat it all."

After hanging up, Stiles mindlessly flips through Netflix choices for a few minutes before realizing he isn't gonna find anything interesting and settling on the next title he lands on. He down almost half of his beer and then stands up and walks over to his desk, grabbing the notebook that serves as a makeshift spellbook and settling in for a sleepless night.

***

He realizes he's asleep as soon as he sits back up. Ever since he started studying magic, using the spark that had apparently laid dormant in his veins, dreaming has been different. Somehow, it seems simultaneously more and less real than the waking world. Ash would say it has something to do with the inherent truthfulness of one's own subconscious. But Ash also once said that leaves have feelings, so Stiles doesn't necessarily know if he trusts their judgment on the situation.

And if he trusts Ash's take, that means he's admitting that there is meaning in the fact that Derek Hale has appeared in almost every dream he's had for the past four years. Tonight, his dream is taking place inside his bedroom at his dad's place. He's sitting at his old desk, laptop open to some random indiscernible Wikipedia page. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Dream Derek sitting on the bed, back against the headboard and legs out in front of him as he reads a book. He looks different than the last time Stiles dreamed of him, and different still from the way Real Derek looked back in high school. His beard is better kept, trimmed closer than he used to, and he has two new tattoos peaking out from under his short sleeve shirt- one on his right arm and one at the neckline. Unlike the wikipedia article, Stiles can clearly see that Derek is reading an old copy of Dracula. He once told Stiles that it was the only monster book that he really enjoyed as a kid, since he knew that vampires weren't real.

Dream Derek never talks, and Stiles has found that he doesn't need to fill the silence. Sometimes, his brain will let him pick music as a soundtrack for whatever they're doing. Sometimes they go for runs in the forest or swim in a pond. Once, they went grocery shopping. Most of the time, though, Dream Derek and Dream Stiles sit in this room and do their own thing. Most often, Dream Derek reads while Stiles goes on research binges or brainstorms solutions to whatever is on his mind. Tonight, though, he doesn't feel like engaging the dream and he closes the laptop, moving over to the bed and curling up with his head in Dream Derek's lap.

This is not something he would ever consider doing to Real Derek. Real Derek is all tense lines and foreboding aura. Stiles' isn't sure he could ever feel comfortable enough around him to even think about cuddling Real Derek, let alone be allowed to actually do it. But something about Dream Derek- especially recent Dream Derek- is softer, more relaxed and inviting. The first time he let himself cuddle Dream Derek was after a particularly bad run in with pixies last year, and ever since it's become his go to move when dreaming feels like too much work. Dream Derek seems to enjoy it too, angling the book so Stiles can read if he wants, threading his hands through Stiles' hair if he doesn't.

Tonight, Stiles' closes his eyes and let's Dream Derek's hands lull him into the soft space between dream and reality.

***

Stiles jolts awake and it takes a minute to reorient himself. According to his phone, he had only been asleep for an hour or so, but the crick in his neck makes him feel like it was longer. He's only 24, he doesn't think his body should protest to things as much as it does. As he stands up, he feels something fall off his lap and he reaches down to grab it, trying to remember what he had been looking into when he fell asleep. But it's not a book from his research that he finds on the floor.

It's Dream Derek's copy of Dracula.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! This one felt like it got a little away from me, but I hope ya'll enjoy! I'm hoping to have the next chapter ready to go sometime this weekend. Any thoughts/feedback is appreciated! :)

It's just a book, dog-eared and well read. The cover is foxed a little bit at the edges and it keeps falling open to the same scene: Mina caring for Jonathan after his ordeal at the castle.

Stiles uses magic to check it, using every spell he can easily cast to sense for magic residue. But there isn't any. He checks it for spells too- certain curses he's come across use an object as a focus. But there isn't any that he can sense. It apparently really is just a book. A book that somehow became reality out of his dream, but a book nonetheless.

He knows his magic didn't create the book. Or at least is reasonably sure it wasn't him. When Peter gave him a few books and he began experimenting with his magic,Stile had issues with his magic going haywire. Objects would move for no reason, electronics would go on the fritz. When a panic attack shorted the entire house during his senior year of high school, he and his dad ended up pulling an all nighter together, trying to find someone who could help. Which is when they found Ash and their coven, an eclectic group of magic users in the region who used each other as a support system.

Ash had a few ideas of how to help Stiles' control his magic, one of which was enchanted piercings and tattoos that would help store and channel all the excess energy. One nose ring, two tattoos, and five years later and Stiles has yet to have an energy surge big enough to move a potted plant.

Besides, he doesn't have the type of magic to create things. At least, he doesn't think he does. They still don't know a whole lot about where his magic specifically comes from, but he hasn't created anything like this before.

Stiles puts the book on the shelf above his desk and puts it on his mental research list- he has a meeting with Ash and the others later today anyway, so maybe they'll have more ideas of what this could be. It appears harmless, though, so he doesn't let himself worry about it.

He decides to go ahead and strengthen some of his wards, starting with his apartment. He doesn't use mountain ash much anymore, since he wants Scott to be able to come and go without any hassle. Instead, he uses a combination of simple folk magic and more complicated sigil magic. He starts by lining the doors and windowsill with a bit of salt, mumbling a few words of protection that Jamie- a fellow coven member- had given him years ago. After that, he grabs the rough drafts of the sigils he had crafted last night and starts inking them onto his windows with a paint pen. His neighbors hate when he uses sigil like this, but if Peter even thinks of getting close he wants him to know there are consequences.

Stiles decides to do his dad's house next, since he will probably be home for lunch anyway and Stiles wants to pick his brain. John had barely acknowledged Stiles' text last night and he's worried his dad isn't going to take it seriously enough.

Stiles parks next to the cruiser, grabbing his satchel of supplies from the passenger seat before walking into the house, yelling out a greeting.

"Hey, kid, wasn't expecting to see you out and about quite yet today," John pulls his son into a lose hug as soon as Stiles enters the kitchen, and Stiles immediately narrows his eyes when he sees a takeout bag on his dad's kitchen table.

"Seriously, Dad? I thought we said no more takeout." Stiles walks over to the table, intent on throwing out the greasy food- after stealing a few fries for himself of course- but the bag is already empty and John grins sheepishly.

"You said no more takeout, I said no such thing. Sheryl's burger and fries is the best part of my week."

"Yeah? I'm sure it'll be the best part of your week after it kills you too. Oh wait—"

"Stiles, calm down. A few burgers aren't gonna be a nail in this old man's coffin. Besides, Sheryl refuses to give me a full order of fries ever since the last time you talked to her about my diet. I'm sure that does enough," John takes a seat at the table while Stiles scowls and throws the empty bag into the trash can by the fridge.

"You didn't notice anything weird about the house when you got up this morning did you?" Stiles starts emptying his satchel onto the table, setting the herb jars to one side and a candle, pen, and paper to the other.

"Nope, not a thing out of place. Wanna tell me what all this is about?"

Stiles shakes his head but runs his dad through the interaction from the night before, sketching a few copies of his new sigil on the scraps of paper he had brought as he talks. John listens intently, the furrow in his brow getting deeper toward the end when Stiles tells him about Peter's threat.

"Has he threatened you like this before?"

"No, but I saw what he did to that rogue alpha sophomore year. Generally, I've tried to stay away from his bad side." Stiles shudders when he thinks about Peter's claws sinnking into the guts of the other alpha, how bright red they were when he removed them.

"Well, you've got your magic now. And you have the power of a pack at your pack. Not to mention the coven."

"I still want us to be prepared, Dad. Last time we tangoed with Peter, so many people got hurt. This new sigil will keep him specifically away from the house, if it works right, so I'm gonna add it to the existing wards today. And i created a few extra here for you to take with you to the station. Just burn one in your office and put the others in your desk. It should be enough for now." Stiles hands his dad a few of the sigils he had just written out and the sheriff takes them and puts them in the breast pocket of his shirt.

"Kid, don't you think you're going a little bit overboard here?"

Stiles stops for a minute and looks at the supplies on the table and then looks up at his dad. His dad looks concerned, and Stiles realizes he's probably more concerned about Stiles' reaction to Peter Hale than he is about Peter. But Stiles doesn't know how to describe magic intuition to his dad- something in Stiles is just telling him that Peter is no good and can't be trusted. And last time he ignored that gut feeling, Scott got bit by a werewolf and they ended up in the most dangerous positions of their lives. In the end, Stiles just shrugs and offers his dad a small smile.

"It's just off and I don't want to take risks."

"Okay, kid. Do you need anything else from me before I head back?"

"Nah, Dad, I should be fine."

The Sheriff stands and gives his son a one armed hug, moving toward the kitchen door. He's almost there when he stops and turns around.

"Do we need to be worried about Derek, too?"

Stiles thinks about the email Derek had sent Scott last month, giving them an update on his plans to move his pack back to Beacon Hills, about Laura's wedding and her plans to stay in Boston. He thinks of the construction crews who have been constantly heading out the old Hale House for the last few months and of Isaac's bright smile at the grocery store yesterday.

"I don't think so. I think he was probably just ready to come home."

***

After finishing up at his dad's house, Stiles has just enough time before the coven meeting to visit the few other places around town where he has personally placed wards: the library, Sheryl's dinner, and the bar. He saves the bar for last since that's where the coven meets anyway. He quickly lines the doors and windows with the salt, moving to the center of the bar to burn the sigil. The paper has just turned to ash in the tray when he hears the back door open and the laughter of his coven mates.

"Ooo, smells like Stiles played with fire without me. Totally not fair."

"Just because you're a fire specialist doesn't mean we have to wait-"

"I think she prefers pyromaniac, actually-"

"Friends, please, no more fire in the bar. Do you remember what happened last-"

Stiles smiles to himself and moves back to the table where he had left his satchel, packing away the last of his supplies as the rest of the coven comes into the room.

The coven isn't very big, but that's the way Ash likes it and since Ash serves as their de facto leader, they get what they want. Ash is the only member of the coven who was raised in a family that knew about magic. They mostly read tarot cards and make witch jars, but they have resources and connections in all areas of magic, since their father is the High Priest of one of the largest covens on the West Coast. Their partner Andy is the second in command; his work mostly focuses on the philosophy of magic, inspired by classical alchemists. Ash's cousin El is the resident psychic and astral projector. The last member of the group is Jamie, an elemental witch with a talent for setting anything and everything on fire.

"Stiles, you burned something without me and I demand you make it up to me." Jamie is barely five foot two, but she pushes herself into Stiles' space like she's six foot four and he laughingly wraps her in a hug, nodding at the others as they move toward the meeting table. No one else likes hugs as much as Jamie.

"It was just a sigil, I promise. Anything more and I would have waited, you know."

"Anything more, and she would have burned you alive for your transgressions." El smirks at Stiles over Jamie's head, moving around them to sit down. Stiles just sticks his tongue out at her and shakes Jamie back and forth a little bit before letting go to join the others at the table. Ash pulls out their ever present composition notebook and starts a new page of notes for the meeting.

"Okay, babes, let's make this quick. Stiles, you've been the one tweaking wards all day. Wanna let us know why?"

Stiles takes a deep breath and gives a quick rundown of the Peter situation, giving them a little bit of extra background since they weren't there for all the drama with him in high school. He explains about Scott being bit by a rogue alpha, about Peter and the other two Hales helping them find the alpha and Peter ripping him to pieces before they could figure out who he was. They already knew that Peter is the one who first sensed the magic in him, gave him the few books that started him off, but he explains about how Peter tried to get him to join his pack for those first few months, appearing randomly all over town. He had stalked Scott in the same way, and it wasn't until Scott met the fairies in the forest- which had been a shock to everyone- and came into his own alpha powers that Peter finally left them alone.

The rest of the coven listens quietly as he talks, Ash taking a few notes in their journal and Jamie reaching out to hold his hand as he talks. He's not necessarily upset about retelling all of the situation, but Jamie seems to need the extra support for herself as he talks. Andy and El look almost bored, but he can tell they're listening because of the way they shiver when he mentions the fairies. They've had some weird encounters with the fairies the past couple of years.

"I think we'll trust your judgment on this one, Stiles. It sounds like Peter is not a guy we want to mess with. Is there anything else you need from us?" Stiles nods and tells them about the book from last night, and how unnerved he was that he couldn't detect any magic on it. Unsurprisingly, El seems to be the one who has the most information on what it coud be.

"Sometimes when I astral project, I can bring a shadow of an object back with me. It will look like it's real, feel like it's real, but it disappears within a few hours. This sounds like something similar, so don't be surprised if it's not on the shelf when you get home." She's playing with her hair while she talks, twisting the bright pink strands around her fingers in a way that keeps drawing Stiles eyes.

"But I've never astral projected before. I don't even know _how_ to astral project."

"Dream walking is a similar beast, I think," Ash cuts in, "It happens more organically than astral projecting, and I think some people just have a natural knack for it and it just happens. If you want, i'll reach out to my dad to see if he knows anyone who can give us more information. In the meantime, though, if the book is there when you get home tonight, let me know and I'll come see if I can pick up anything. Does that work?"

Stiles isn't sure either explanation feels right, but he nods anyway, realizing that this is at least a place to start. And he doesn't really want to get into the full history of his Derek dreams if he doesn't have to. They're too personal.

"Moving on, we need to plan what we want to do for next week's new moon- Jamie, you still wanted to host at your apartment, right?"

The rest of the meeting goes pretty quickly. They settle on a variation of the same rituals they do every new moon, finish writing a letter they plan to send to a neighboring coven, and settle on the next week's schedule for the bar, which the coven co-owns and manages. At the end of the meeting, Stiles hands everyone a copy of the sigil he had made to burn in their own homes, and he feels pretty much like he has the whole situation under control. He's walking out of the door toward his car when his phone rings.

"Hey, Scott, I'm actually on my—"

"Stiles, change of plans. I got a call from your dad- they found a body in the preserve." Scott is moving around on his end of the phone and Stiles can hear Allison and some one else in the background. It almost sounds like-

"A body? Wait, is that Isaac?"

"Yeah, he came over for dinner, but listen we're heading over to Derek's to figure out if we need to be concerned or not- he and Erica are the ones who found the body and they think it may be supernatural. I want you to come to Derek's too, maybe share your concerns about Peter."

Stiles unlocks the Jeep and looks around him suspiciously, half expecting Peter to be somewhere in sight. Aside from Jamie sitting in her car playing on her phone, though, there's no one.

"Yeah, dude, of course. Do you want me to head straight to the Hale house?"

"Yeah, straight there. Thanks, Stiles, see ya soon."

Stiles hangs up his phone and drops his forehead to the steering wheel of the jeep, groaning loud and long for a moment before finally sitting up and starting the engine. He pulls out in the road and turns his car toward the preserve.


End file.
